


Take Notice

by Kayauss



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Character Study, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-13
Updated: 2017-04-13
Packaged: 2018-10-18 08:06:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10612740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kayauss/pseuds/Kayauss
Summary: Sometimes we refuse to see what's right in front of us._A short character study on Taako and Angus.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! Originally posted as a prologue for another fic thats coming, but edited to be a one shot instead. ended up rewriting a lot and realized this prologue was completely unnecessary. Actual chaptered fic coming soon! I have... 7k words written. For Chapter 1.

They walked right by him the first time they saw him, unaware that this 10 year old sleuth would be one day hopelessly entwined in their lives. He was just a little boy in fancy clothes sitting on a train. He was more intelligent than the three of them combined, far more competent, and far more charming, not that any of these things were hard to accomplish. They had no idea that he would be instrumental in not only solving the mysteries on the Rockport Limited, but future mysteries of their mysterious organization, and their even more mysterious past. They also had no idea that one day they would grow as attached to this boy as they were to each other.

But the first time they saw him, they walked right by him, speaking instead to the others on board the Rockport Limited. They had no idea how intently the boy was listening to their conversations, how intently he listens and watches at all times, and would not find out until much later just how perceptive his young eyes could be. He was the world's best detective, after all.

Merle was the first to look twice at the fancy lad. He tried to sell him on his blasphemous pagan religion with his ridiculous Extreme Teen Bible before Magnus became suspicious of the boy's good nature. It figures that Tres Horny Boys would be suspicious of a small boy who just wanted to make friends. They couldn't have been more wrong. Little Angus was a good, good, boy, as sweet and polite as they come. His sleuthing skills were invaluable help in solving the murders on the Rockport Limited.

They all came away from that adventure with a good grasp on the character of the boy detective. He didn't like to swear, but would call bullshit when he saw it. His reflexes were as quick as his mind. He didn't flinch at the sight of blood. He tried his best to keep everyone safe, even at the expense of his own life.

Merle hated him.

Magnus saw a bit of his own selfless heroism in the boy.

Taako was told himself he was indifferent- and he really would be if he didn't also see a bit of himself in the young, overly polite, too eager to please little boy.

Taako was much more perceptive than anyone would think at a first glance. He saw things the other men in his group didn't see. That they would never see. He saw how quick Angus was to keep Merle happy at the first sign of displeasure. He saw how he was quick to reign in his own displeasure, to seem amused rather than annoyed, the way he kept his voice down and refrained from yelling whenever possible. He saw how he flinched away from innocent touches, like when Merle laying his hand on his shoulder mid religious lecture, or when Magnus going in for a high five, or even when Taako twiddles his fingers in front of him to punctuate the conversation. He even saw, for a moment, a young elf, alone, traveling with mixed company, learning not to trust himself to raise his voice, to express his displeasure, as a not so gentle touch tends to follow - sometimes, for even less reason. A young little elf, always hyper vigilant, paying close attention to his surroundings.

As they left the Rockport Limited, Taako remembered the lengths he went through to leave that little elf boy behind. He silently hopes for the best for Angus McDonald, then pushes the thoughts of the broken little boys out of his mind. He found it useless to dwell on things that he can no longer change.

It was just after their experiences in Goldcliff when the boys were surprised by the return of Angus McDonald; Merle and Magnus never expected to see that bright young fancy lad again, though for much different reasons than their elven compatriot.

“I could have sworn you died!” Taako said, surprising even himself.

Of course Angus hadn't died; the only little boy that had died was his past self, that young, bright eyed elf Angus had reminded him of. He wondered if he'd gotten the two boys tangled in his memories.

He continues his goof aloud as he pushed those useless thoughts down, joking that he remembered Angus perishing in the train.

Of course he hadn't died in the fucking Rockport Limited; Tres Horny Boys may be jackasses, but they'd do their best to protect an innocent ten year old boy.

In the months following their adrenaline filled battle wagon race, little Angus quickly wormed his way into most of the bureau's hearts. He was such a sweet boy, talking excitedly to anyone who would listen. Most of the employees couldn't spare much time, but they loved him all the same. He tried his best to make friends, but there weren't many other kids on the moon.

The regulators could sense the lonely boy's plight. Boyland smiled when he first saw the child, remembering his own horde of children and offering Angus the chance to join them in the arena. Carey and Killian quickly took to the boy's can do attitude, and he was soon learning the best Sneaks from team Sweet Flips. He found a rogue's skill set complimentary to the duties of a detective.

No, not a mere detective any longer; he had been promoted to the bureau's finest seeker – even the Director herself agreed. Taako found himself watching the kid as he bustled throughout the headquarters. He was more excited than Taako ever was at his age, more eager to socialize, but just as eager to please. They were both so polite, but where Taako would, even as a young'n, punctuate his language with the colorful swears he learned through his caravan journeys, the boy would rarely swear except when it was really, really funny. The elf found himself making these observations every time the boy was in his sights; and every time he did, he would quickly shake those thoughts away with a scowl.

He had long since buried that part of his life and no lad, however fancy, was going to bring those bad vibes back up. He kept his distance; he wasn't interested in caring about any more people. The boner squad was more than enough for this loner elf.

The events at Lucas' lab changed that line of thought.

During the events, Taako didn't think much of it; far too much going on. But when they returned from the ordeal, Taako was struck by the boy's red rimmed eyes; he remembered hearing the boy's sobs when he thought he had caused their deaths.

Someone had cried for Taako.

Taako was certain that that was the thought that had brought him into the director's office the day after the crystal shitdom had been cleared, asking questions about the moon's youngest employee.

“Lucretia,”

“Taako," she replied, sounding exasperated.

“Sorry, _Madame Director_ Lucretia,” The director sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “What do you know about Agnes?”

She blinked a few times as she tried to figure out who he was talking about. “Do you... do you mean Angus? Angus McDonald?”

“Yeah,” he waved his hand dismissively, “boy wonder, or whatever he goes by on the moon,”

“What do I... Taako, why are you asking?” 

The elf snorted incredulously, “Didn't you hear, darling? Taako's about to take on an apprentice, and Ango is my top candidate,”

The director's brow quirked. “An... _apprentice_.”

“Yeah, homeslice. He's like, the smartest guy on this whole moonbase, so I figure if I'm gonna pass down my wicked awesome wizard skills, he's my best bet,”

“And what, exactly, could I tell you that you don't already know about him?” she leaned on her hand as she spoke, and Taako swore he saw the corner of her lips twitch upwards.

“Don't you have, like, stat sheets on all us moonlings? Some data and junk I can look over and see if the squirt is actually worth my time? Hm?” as he spoke, both his eyebrows were constantly jerking upwards, trying to look conspiratorial. He instead managed to look like he had an involuntary twitch.

Just for a second, Lucretia couldn't help the fond smile that graced her face at the elf's ridiculous expressions. “Of course. Let me just...” she spun in her chair, opening a drawer in a filing cabinet – labeled M, for Mcdonald, Taako could only guess – and rifled through it. Taako briefly wondered where he was filed away before a surprisingly thick file was dropped in front of him.

“In here you'll find information on all of Angus' previous jobs, as well as a list of his capabilities, and a little bit about his personal life. I don't see why you wouldn't have been able to figure out his abilities after working with the boy himself, but I suppose there's no harm in you checking his professional information,”

“You got it, Madame Lucretia,” Taako snatched the file from the desk, opening it up and skimming through it as he got up and walked out of the director's office.

“Wait, Taako, you can't -” she began to stand, sounding alarmed.

“I'll have it back in a jiff, don't sweat,” With a halfhearted wave, he was gone, already heading back to his room with the huge file. “Sweating is gross, anyways,” he called distractedly as he read snippets.

The director considered going after him; she really, really did. It was protocol that bureau employee's files stay in her office at all times.

Instead, she sank back into her chair. The elf couldn't do any harm with the information that everyone in the bureau had access to- or so she hoped- and he was the most difficult of the Reclaimers to talk to. She would let him do as he wanted – for now. She wondered what exactly the elf was seeking that he couldn't have already found by direct observation or by speaking with Angus directly. She also wondered if the elf even knew how to have a conversation involving actual, meaningful, personal information.

Taako supposed he could have stayed in the director's office to read the file, but then she'd know what he was looking for, and he didn't care to answer any more questions than he already had; besides, he also wanted to look at a few things for reference points on Angus' capabilities. He dropped the file on his desk once he reached his part of the dorm room, continuing to flip through the pages until he found the bits on the boy's personal life. His eyes skimmed the information he deemed most important

Living relatives: no immediate family.

He grimaced at that information, pushing down the thoughts trying to link their childhoods once again.

Accomplishments: Attended Fantasy High School. Outstanding detective work, 94% success rate. 200 plus hours community service on record...

That list went on for a while, though Taako mostly wondered how well a ten year old boy fared with regular teenagers. Not well, he thought to himself. Fantasy teenagers were the worst. He skimmed the rest of this list and moved on to the next.

Reported Incidents: His eyes narrowed at this list, which was almost as impressive as the list of accomplishments. Here, Taako found far too many incidents to count; seven, at least! As to be expected, Angus did not seem to be the instigator in any of these fights. Taako clicked his teeth; confirmed his theories about fantasy teenagers, among other things, but not exactly what he was expecting.

Interests: Reading, Sleuthing, archery, magic tricks.

Magic tricks... with a chuckle, Taako remembered their conversation on the train. Merle's 'magic trick' of a failed zone of truth. Taako wondered, grinning to himself, if Angus might want to learn a few magic tricks of his own.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Wow! this is the first thing i've written for fun in... a long long while. I had a lot of fun with this; its nothing groundbreaking and new in this fandom, but i just love the cute relationship between Angus and Taako and the idea that everyone sort of adopts Angus. 
> 
> This chapter is really a prologue, which is kind of a character study about why people (mostly a certain elf) do things because I like to babble about motivations. There's a little exposition and a lot of introspection. Hope you guys enjoy reading Taako trying to figure out what to do with a cute lil fancy lad and thinking about why he might be so darn interested in the squirt.
> 
> __
> 
> This note is a little out of date now haha. still pretty excited about this :3


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